Exterior home fall maintenance tips performed during the last days of summer and through the fall season should prepare your property for the cold weather extremes.

1. Preventive Maintenance Tips
Before the Cold Season

2. Climbing the ladder and walking
the roof is dangerous.
You must be 100% comfortable with it!
Get a professional help if necessary!
Remember - Safety First!

3. Check house
roof surface for
any damage and
perform repairs if
necessary

4. Inspect flashing
around roof
penetrations, sea
l the gaps

5. • Check chimney
walls for
deterioration
• Seal its top
around the flue
• Install a rain cap
if missing

6. Seal chimney
crown to prevent
water penetration
and expansion of
cracks

7. Install protective
screen / wire
mash around the
chimney cap

8. Chimney screens
prevent birds
from falling into
the flue during
the cold season

9. Secure and clean
gutters and
clogged
downspouts
before the cold
season

10. Seal leaking
seams on
gutters

11. • Check
soffit, fascia, and
house trim for
moisture damage
• Fix damaged
sections, scrape,
caulk, and repaint

12. Check and seal
all penetrations
around the
windows, doors,
pipes, vents, etc.
for gaps & cracks

13. Clean clothes
dryer vent, and
its vent pipe

14. Clothes dryer
vent needs to be
cleaned more
often than just
during your
exterior fall
maintenance
routine

15. Make sure that
clothes dryer
vent covers have
no screens of
any kind /
damper or
louvers only

16. Make sure that
the vent covers
have not been
installed up side
down

17. Replace
damaged vent
covers and make
sure that
dampers are
operating
freely

18. Fix siding
panels, seal
gaps/cracks in
stucco, Dryvit, bri
ck, and stone
walls

19. Neglecting Dryvit
finishes
maintenance can
be devastating
and include mold
contamination of
the house
structure

20. Check weather
stripping around
exterior doors
and adjust
thresholds to
prevent air drafts

21. Remove, drain, a
nd store garden
hoses, drain
exterior water
faucets

22. As an additional
protection, you
can install
removable
Styrofoam cover
over the faucet

23. Before the cold
season remove
sump pump
discharge pipe
extensions
resting on the
ground to
prevent freezing

24. Check exterior
electrical outlets
for GFCI
protection and
weatherproof
cover presence

25. Check and seal if
necessary
cracked
sidewalks and
driveways to
prevent or at
least slow down
further
displacement

26. Asphalt
driveways require
periodical
application of
sealer to slow
down their
surface
deterioration

27. Winterize
sprinkler system.
Draining it is not
enough; you’ll
need a
compressor to
blow out
remaining water
from lines

28. Keep leaves out
of the drainage
channels around
the property:
basement
window
wells, basement
exterior
entrance, etc.

29. Seal or remove
(and seal the
openings)
window or wall
air conditioning
units to minimize
air drafts

30. To print your home fall maintenance tips list visit:
www.checkthishouse.com